The defending champs will be left out of Championship Weekend for the first time in a number of years, leaving many to wonder what happened. The quest for a three peat was met with turmoil and inconsistency. The World Games didn’t help but delay the inevitable for them going down the stretch. Now where do they move on from here?
The lineup is aging a great deal and their draft strategy hasn’t helped the case for the youth movement that has been building in the league. The some of the veterans are the last of the inaugural class of players into the league, some even going so far back as to be entering the league during its initial summer showcase in 2000.
At attack, the Bayhawks were in a position that was going to be a gamble from day one of the season. Penn State’s Matt Mackrides was asked to move to attack and the results were inconsistent. In year’s past, he was a midfielder mostly relegated to the second line. Brendan Mundorf couldn’t get his feet into the systematic offense of the Bayhawks and it felt that his points were from just getting chances getting himself to the goal. Still not 100 percent during the season had some effects on his play.
Ben Rubeor isn’t a feature player that plays with the ball in his stick for a great deal of time. He is opportunistic and gets his points off finding openings and making tough plays inside the defense. Drew Westervelt is a shooter and not an initiator. His game is built to be the exclamation on the end of a play. Someone dodges, finds him open, and he finishes with the best of them.
The Bayhawks need to groom someone to step in as the replacement for Mundorf’s dominance behind the cage. In years past they have had more than one option at attack. Now they need Mundorf to be at his very best and healthy to be successful. In this case, with the injuries mounting he wasn’t able to shoulder that load. Simply he needed help.
Midfield has been in quite a bit of transition this summer. Kyle Dixon had been a staple of the team and Michael Kimmel has always anchored a potent second line. Joe Walters is a converted attackman, Kevin Crowley is more of an attackman in Cottle’s system, and there was no player able to consistently make a defense rotate. Steven Brook’s moved on, Kimmel moved on, David Earl would could have been the future moved on, and Jon Hayes who the team had faith in all pre season moved as well.
With the season in doubt at the point of both trades, it was a lot to deal. Crowley was the MVP, but not a one-man show. He will get his points, but again there is no complimentary player. At midfield, he is a part time player in the offense as well. Stephen Peyser played extremely well in the pre season and then was hit with an injury. The team needs to find players in the midfield that are complete offensive players because their defensive midfield might be the best unit in the game.
Defense is where the Bayhawks might be seeing the most turnover with the end of the season looming. Brian Spallina has been a mainstay in the league since its inception. Coming back from a broken jaw this summer shows you his toughness. How much can his body take? Nicky Polanco is in the same shape as he has logged a number of miles for the league during his tenure. Having one on the field at a time is likely the best move instead of both due to their aging legs. They are fun to watch, but it is obvious the Bayhawks need to rebuild.
Michael Evans will be the last remaining member of the championship defense. He will need support behind his physical, aggressive style. That take a significant toll on his body, as seen by the games he didn’t play. Brian Megill and Jesse Bernhardt are solid young additions, but they need to know their roles. Sometimes at long pole and then at close, they become less effective for the defense.
The decisiveness of positioning may have come from the injuries that raged the team this summer and not knowing who was going to be in week by week. The college in-active list doesn’t offer much hope, so you can tell the team relies on trades to stay atop the league. Drafting for the first time in the team’s history might be the most key part to the team’s success.
The cupboard isn’t empty in Chesapeake, but there are a few pieces in place that need help. If they can draft three players to make a difference with the pieces they have, the team will bounce back from this season’s disappointment quickly. There is no reason to believe that they cannot contend next season, but its likely that if they don’t find the next generation of Bayhawks soon they could stay out of the playoff race for a couple of years.
The Bayhawks have always been one of the best teams in the league and this season has gone about as bad as it could be. The rash of injuries, the World Game commitments, and constant turnover had to be a nightmare for management and staff. The consistency that the Bayhawks have displayed through the years has always been there success. It will be interesting to see the moves that they make to regain their stature.
